Transcript A New Modern Age (powerpoint) - Historiana Learning Activities

New movements in art, theatre and literature reflected and were
shaped by the transformations that were taking place in society.
Artists were embracing modernism in a variety of ways: cubism,
futurism, surrealism, German expressionism and Dada. Many
artists, writers, composers, architects and intellectuals regarded
themselves as being part of an avant-garde movement opposed to
traditional forms and cultural norms.
And yet, at the same time, a visitor to any major town or city in
Europe could also see how the past and the present, tradition and
modernity, were intertwined. Medieval streets fed into modern
boulevards; factories using mass production techniques outsourced
the production of parts to artisan workshops; markets that had
been held since the Middle Ages continued to be held in and
around the main city squares.
Piazza dei Martiri,
Naples, Italy, ca. 1895
(Public Domain, Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsc-06559)
In the second half of the
19th century many parts of
the world were eagerly
embracing modernity. Many
European cities, like
Naples in this picture,
outwardly looked much as
they had done for the last
100 years, but people‘s
lives, particularly those of
the élites and the
relatively new middle
class, were changing, often
as a result of the
introduction of new
technologies in many ways.
In the years just before the
war modernity and
tradition were becoming
increasingly intertwined.
The picture itself is a
photocrome, a colorised
version of a negative, itself
a new technology born in
the 1880s.
Jardin du Luxembourg, the gardens of the Senate, Paris, France.
Public city gardens were a traditional feature of citizens' life.
The increasingly wealthy middle class would use them to take
a stroll with their children, talk business or politics, and get
away from what was already deemed as a too noisy city life.
(Public Domain, National
Library of France,
Référence bibliographiqu
e : Rol , 27439)
A street cook in
Istanbul
(Constantinople),
Ottoman Empire, ca.
1895
In Europe and elsewhere,
however, traditional
market life retained all
its customs; a bit like
nowadays' street
markets!
(Public Domain, Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsc-06083)
May Day celebration in
New Westminster,
British Columbia,
Canada in 1913
(Public Domain, New Westminster Public Library, 1757)
Traditional holidays were still
celebrated as in the past, as
with the Maypole dance you
can see in the picture. Signs
of modernity: the
celebrations were
'institutionalised', mostly by
city councils, in the second
half of the 19th century and,
besides, May Day had passed
from being a pagan festivity
to a firmly Christian one.
Starting from the end of the
1880s, however, an
International Workers' Day
was celebrated on 1st May as
well. These different
interpretations, pagan,
Christian, and socialist, are
still alive nowadays,
sometimes in opposition,
sometimes mixed together.
Tophane Square,
Istanbul, cromograph,
ca. 1908
You might like to
examine this image and
see what is modern and
what is traditional here.
Life was rapidly evolving
in all parts of the world.
(Public Domain, Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-03045)
Pathé Cinema in Paris,
France, in 1913
Cinema was a very young
technology at the time,
having emerged from and
been perfected through
the inventions of many
minds (such as Edison and
the Lumière brothers)
from the 1890s. In 1913
cinema was a growing
industry of some 15 years
of age. Whoever was able
to pay for the entrance
ticket could enjoy a new
and exciting form of
entertainment.
(Public Domain, National Library of France,
Référence bibliographique : Rol, 33418)
Cinematograph Cinema, Lordship Lane
N17, 1913
(Public Domain, United Kingdom)
The invention of cinema can lead us to some
interesting reflections. First of all, this
technology was really innovative and its
novelty was apparent: unlike other great
technological improvements,
cinematography, with its moving onscreen
images, was a novelty in itself.
Cinematography seemed to be in a constant
state of development. You may try and think
about a comparable technology in our times.
Secondly, such an innovation was also
supported by a demand for new
entertainments. The cinema industry was
sustained by a market, that is, by a class of
people, large in number, that could afford to
spend their money to watch a movie. This
may be deemed as a novelty in itself.
“Sixty Years a Queen”,
1913
The motion picture 'Sixty
Years a Queen' was a
1913 British production
on the life of the late
Queen Victoria. National
narrative found an
extremely fertile ground
in cinematography –
something it will exploit
later in the 20th century.
(Public Domain, Robert Grau (1914) The Theatre of Science,
Broadway publishing company, New York)
The tenor Lucien
Muratore and the
soprano Lina Cavalieri
recording acoustically
with an orchestra in
Paris, 1913
The music industry was
also enjoying the
increased possibilities
offered by the market,
together with the new
recording technologies.
(The New York Time, How Pop Sounded Before It Popped, March 19,
2006)
A French newspaper
advertisement about a
product against
baldness.
(Public domain, Le Pèlerin, n°
1928, 14 décembre 1913)
While miracle drugs are as old as mankind, the wealth of the developed world encouraged
new selling strategies. Modern advertising was also a new feature of the turn of the
century.
Pupils from the
Brisbane Girls Grammar
School, Brisbane, 1913
Pushed by liberals and
socialists, the right to
public education was
expanded upon the turn
of the century to a wider
number of people, and
notably to women too. At
the time the common
custom was to separate
girls and boys in different
classes (and often
different schools). In the
picture you can see a
class from the Brisbane
(Australia) Girls Grammar
School in 1913.
(Public Domain, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland,
Accession number: 94-4-32)
Tohoku Imperial
University,1913
(Public Domain, Japan)
Higher Education Institutes, such as universities, were already well established in the Western
world. Around the turn of the 20th century many developing and developed countries beside the
'West’ began to 'westernise' their higher education institutions. This picture shows the entrance
gate to the Tohoku Imperial University on Honshu, the largest island in Japan. It had been a higher
learning institution since the 18th century and was 'westernised' in 1907, thus becoming a
'university' in the European sense of the word. Tohoku University is especially famous for being the
first Japanese university to accept female and foreign students.
100 metres race at the
Olympic Games of
Stockholm, 1912
(The Olympic Games of
Stockholm, Official
Report, 1912)
The turn of the century also witnessed an extraordinary development and spread of new
sports and the renewal of old competitions. The Olympic Games were brought back to life
in 1896, thanks to the efforts of Baron Pierre de Coubertin. You can see in the picture the
finish of the men's 100 metres final, during the 5th Modern Olympic Games in Stockholm
(Sweden), 1912. For the record, Ralph Craig (US) won the race. The USA team won the
three first places, while a South African athlete came fourth. The Games were contested by
2408 competitors (including 48 women) from 28 countries.
International Cross
Country Championship,
Juvisy (France), 1913:
Bouin.
(Source: BNF, Gallica)
The first international cross country competition was held in 1903. The first tournament
was restricted to the 'Home Nations' of the United Kingdom, then France was included in
1907. After the Great War, other European (and, later, non-European) countries also
participated.
Sports in Toulouse: a
rugby match between
Soet and USEVT - a key
(CC BY-SA 2.0, Frederic Humbert)
Playing rugby spread
from Britain to France as
well as to some of the
other countries of the
British Empire. In France
the sport first emerged in
the south-west of the
country mainly due to
the intense trading links
between the winegrowing region and
Britain. This picture is
taken at the "Prairie des
Filtres", the first rugby
pitch created in
Toulouse, around 1906-7.
Michigan fans in Ferry
Field bleachers, 1913
A shared passion for sport
enhanced social life. In
this picture we see
American football fans of
the University of
Michigan team standing
in the bleachers (or
wooden grandstands) in
the Ferry Field stadium,
18th October 1913.
(CC BY 2.0, Wystan)
NAG (left) and Daimler
(right) buses in
Ostankino, Moscow,
1913
(Public Domain, Russia)
Around the beginning of the 20th century new forms of public transport were also being
developed. The larger cities of central, western and northern Europe developed tram
networks and the capital cities made plans to construct underground railways. Elsewhere,
public transport was less well developed. In pre-revolutionary Russia, for example, the cost
of tickets for buses and trams was prohibitive for many ordinary workers. This picture shows
some public buses in Ostankino, Moscow (Russia), in 1913.
Vienna central
metropolitan station,
around 1910
Railways connected
Europe and shortened
travel between
countries, between
cities, and also across
cities. International
travel became
increasingly easy because
of this. Faster travel was
also militarily significant
and played an important
role in military strategy,
particularly at the
beginning of the War.
(Wiener Brücken, Verlag Jugend und Volk, Wien 1982, Seite 73)
Victoria Terminus railways station, Bombay, 1903
The caption of this 1903 postcard reads: "The most
magnificent railway station in the world, Bombay, India." It
shows the Victoria Terminus railways station.
(Public Domain, British Library,
Shelfmark: Photo 181/(2)
Construction of the
first Hungarian
underground line,
Budapest, 1896
(Sunday News 1896/17 )
The end of the 1890s saw
a dramatic development
in metropolitan networks
in Europe and the US.
Urban rapid transit
systems became part of
the everyday life of
middle and upper
classes. Even a Sherlock
Holmes story, The
Adventure of the BrucePartington Plans (1908),
features a mystery in
which a metro line is an
essential part of the plot!
Tube map of London in
1908
This map was produced
at around the same time
that Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle published his
Sherlock Holmes story
featuring the London
Underground network.
(Copyright Status Unknown)
Pont Alexandre III bridge around 1900
New bridges and modern infrastructures, both outside and
within cities, symbolised an era of industrial vitality,
including a boom in new architecture. The Pont Alexandre
III across the River Seine in Paris, was completed in 1900. It
celebrated the Franco-Russian alliance.
(Public Domain, France)
Opening of the Collins
Bridge, Miami (USA),
1913
In 1913 Collins Bridge was the longest wooden bridge in the world (4 km). It was a toll
bridge that linked the city to Miami Beach for the first time. Yet another example of the
response by the newly-emerging middle classes to their greater free time for leisure.
(Public Domain, Florida
Photographic Collection,
N028477)
Solvay Conference,
1911
Industry was developing strong links with the scientific community. Belgian industrialist
Ernest Solvay convened the first International Council on Physics and Chemistry, in Brussels,
in 1911. The picture shows the participants on the Physics panel. Among them, a young
Einstein, Planck, Rutherford, Curie, Solvay himself.
(Public Domain, Getty Images,
Editorial #52194952, 1911)
Dream of the Rarebit
Fiend comic strip, 1913
A comic strip drawn by
Winsor McCay in January
1913. You can see that
technological
development was felt to
be as overwhelming then
as it is today! Comic
strips and Serial Comics
first emerged in the
1880s and became really
popular when they
featured in daily
newspapers, and
especially after the
introduction of speech
balloons.
(Public Domain, Winsor McCay, Dream of the Rarebit Fiend comic
strip published 19 January, 1913)
Pavillon de la Tunisie Exposition Universelle
Bruxelles, 1910
(Public Domain, Belgium)
Industrial development was a matter of national pride, and Universal Exhibitions were a
source of friendly competition between countries. Universal exhibitions encompassed
culture as well as industry. The first of its kind took place in London, in 1851. Brussels 1910
saw the participation of 26 countries and had 13,000,000 visitors. Colonies often
participated in universal exhibitions with their own pavilions (run by the colonial
governments).
The Tokyo-Taisho
Exhibition, Tokyo, 1914
The Tokyo-Taisho
Exhibition, 1914. Tokyo,
Japan.
(Public Domain, Japan)
International Socialist Congress of
Copenhagen, 1910
“Along with industry and science, new forms of
international politics were also developing.
While national political organisations continued
to predominate in everyday politics some
transnational political organisations also
emerged. The International Workingmen’s
Association was formed in 1864 (commonly
known as The First International) but dissolved
in 1876 because of irreconcilable differences
between the moderates and the revolutionaries.
The Second International was formed in 1889
and continued to meet until 1916 when it was
torn apart by differences arising from the war.
This picture was taken during the Eighth
Congress of the Second International, which was
held in Copenhagen in 1910. The Second
International included parties not just from
Europe but from all over the world; notably
from the US, Argentina, Uruguay, and India.”
Marxisthistory.org
(No known copyright restrictions)
Workers on the first
moving assembly line
assembling magnetos
and flywheels for the
Ford Motor Company,
Michigan, USA, in 1913
(Public Domain, United States)
The turn of the century had seen yet another revolution: Fordism. This was a revolutionary
approach to industrial production – the assembly line - which would lead to mass,
standardised, and cheaper production. Employees were paid higher wages than in other
comparable industries so that they could be the first customers of the firm. In return,
Henry Ford, controversial and brilliant industrialist as he was, banned trade unions from his
factories.
Model-T Car at the Ford
Company, 1913
The first Ford Model-T car was produced in 1908. As it was relatively cheap and easy to
drive, it became a huge commercial success. Its price reached out even to the middle class,
and in a very short time the Model-T became the American car, while Henry Ford, allegedly,
went on to become the fifth richest man in history. Here you can see one of the final stages
of the assembly line for a Model-T in 1913.
(Public Domain, United States)
Workers at the Lane
Cotton Mill, New
Orleans, USA, 1913
Although, around the
world, workers were
organising themselves
into trade unions and
seeking national and
international support for
workers‘ rights, it was
still the case that child
labour was still
widespread right up to
the outbreak of World
War 1.
(Public Domain, Library of Congress, LOT 7479, v. 6, no. 3699)
Cattle roaming on an
unidentified farm,
1900-1910
(Public Domain, John Oxley
Library, State Library of
Queensland, Accession number:
D3-3-85; 7946)
The world before the War was still predominantly rural. In the US the westward expansion
of the frontier, the settlements and opening up of the prairies and ther arrival of the
railroads had led to a rapid expansion in agriculture. By 1880 22 million people (44% of the
population) were engaged in agriculture. By 1905 the number had increased to 31 million.
Similar developments were happening in Canada, while in Australia and New Zealand large
territories were devoted to sheep and cattle farming. Even much of developed Europe was
still mainly rural.
A cattle fair at Sonepur,
India, 1913
Much of the African and
Asian countryside was
still being used for
pastoral farming (i.e.
cattle).
(Public Domain, USC Library, International Mission Photography
Archive, ca.1860-ca.1960, CSCNWW33/OS14/34)
Milksellers in Brussels,
1890-1900
Europe was no less rural
than other lands. This
postcard, designed to
represent a pastoral
idyll, was taken just
outside Brussels, the
capital city of Belgium.
(Public Domain, Library of Congress, LOT 13422, no. 053)
Suffrage ‘Hikers’ on the way to
New Jersey, 1913
(Public Domain, Library of
Congress, LC-B2- 2648-15)
The turn of the century was also a period of extensive political activism. In much of Eastern
Europe and in the Colonies the fight was still about national self-determination. But in the
other countries it was about civil rights. In most liberal democracies large sectors of the
population were still denied the vote. For example, universal male suffrage was only
introduced in Italy in 1911. In Britain, many of the young men who went to fight in World
War 1 did not meet the property qualification which would allow them to vote. Denial of
the vote to women was virtually universal. It is in this context that the movement of the
suffragettes emerged. This movement, involving national and international Women's
suffrage organisations, aimed at securing women's right to vote. In the picture, you can see
one of their famous 'Hikes' or marches, in this case, to New Jersey in the USA.
The official
programme
of a
demonstrati
on for
Women's
suffrage,
Washington,
1913
The influence
of Art Noveau
can be clearly
see in the
heroic
depiction of
these
marching
women.
(Public Domain, Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-12512)
Women's suffragists
demonstrating in
February 1913
(Public Domain, Library of
Congress, LC-DIG-ggbain-12482)
The Suffragette movement had an impressive resonance throughout the world. Although
particularly developed in the English-speaking countries, similar organisations mushroomed
everywhere, especially in Japan, South Africa, and South America (notably Argentina). In
Europe, the first country to give women the right to vote was not even an independent
country: it was the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1907, which, back then, was part of the
Russian Empire.
Transvaal Protest March organized
by Gandhi, October-November
1913
(Public Domain, South
Africa)
Protests were also emerging against race-based forms of discrimination. This picture was taken in
Volksrust, South Africa, in 1913. In South Africa, which was part of the British Empire, the white
population of Boer descent was the dominant minority. The Transvaal Protest March of 1913 was
organised by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who practiced as a lawyer there at the time. The aim
was to claim civil rights for the Indian immigrants in South Africa. The men in the picture were
Indian miners in Natal. The protest was not successful. Like the black majority in South Africa, the
Indian immigrants lived under an apartheid regime where the races were segregated from each
other. This was in place from the beginning of Boer rule and became official in 1948 until 1994,
when the leaders of the two main communities, Nelson Mandela and F.W. De Klerk, negotiated the
democratisation of the system.
A New Modern Age
Has been made by Francesco Scatigna. The development has been part of
a Europeana collaboration and is financially supported by the European
Union and the Evens Foundation.
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